RICHIE Barker made no apologies for his Portsmouth side’s workmanlike performance as they held on for a goalless draw at the Kassam Stadium.

The visitors carried little in the way of attacking threat, but defended stoutly to claim a point.

Barker, whose side are now just one point above the bottom two, acknowledged it was far from a classic, but was happy with the way Ports-mouth dug in.

He said: “I don’t think they will be selling too many of those DVDs, it wasn’t the most attractive, but as I said to the players, at times it’s not our job to come away and entertain other people’s fans.

“It’s our job to grind out results, become more difficult to beat and make sure we do the right things.

“(Oxford) have predominantly been a top four or top six team throughout the season, so they are one of the best teams – that’s why they are where they are.

“We treated them with respect, but came here to try and win the game and we are starting to build on the clean sheets that we are getting.”

Ipsoregulated

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